WHYISLAM.IN I E-source to know, understand and follow the true faith, to achieve peace in this life and hereafter. The life style, accepted in the sight of Almighty, the knowledge of true faith based on facts, logic and literature revealed by the Creat

Description: This article delineates the correlation
between the most accepted scientific explanation of the origin and expansion
of the Universe, and the description of its origin and expansion in the
Quran.

Hubble’s Law

For thousands of years, astronomers wrestled with basic questions
concerning the universe. Until the early 1920’s, it was believed that the
universe had always been in existence; also, that the size of the universe was
fixed and not changing. However, in 1912, the American astronomer, Vesto
Slipher, made a discovery that would soon change astronomers’ beliefs about the
universe. Slipher, noticed that the galaxies were moving away from earth
at huge velocities. These observations provided the first evidence
supporting the expanding-universe theory. [1]

Before
the invention of the telescope in 1608, man could do little more than wonder
about the origin of the universe. (Courtesy: NASA)

In
1916, Albert Einstein formulated his General Theory of Relativity that
indicated that the universe must be either expanding or contracting.
Confirmation of the expanding-universe theory finally came in 1929 in the hands
of the well known American astronomer Edwin Hubble.

By observing red shifts [2] in the light wavelengths emitted by
galaxies, Hubble found that galaxies were not fixed in their position; instead,
they were actually moving away from us with speeds proportional to their
distance from earth (Hubble's Law). The only explanation for this
observation was that the universe had to be expanding. Hubble’s discovery
is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of astronomy. In 1929,
he published the velocity-time relation which is the basis of modern cosmology.
In the years to come, with further observations, the expanding-universe
theory was accepted by scientists and astronomers alike.

With
the Hooker Telescope, Hubble discovered that the galaxies were moving away us.
Above are photos of known galaxies. (Courtesy: NASA)

Yet, astonishingly well before telescopes were even invented and
well before Hubble published his Law, Prophet Muhammad used to recite a verse
of the Quran to his companions that ultimately stated that the universe is
expanding.

“And
the heaven We created with might, and indeed We are (its) expander.” (Quran
51:47)

At the time of the revelation of the Quran, the word “space” was
not known, and people used the word “heaven” to refer to what lies above the
Earth. In the above verse, the word “heaven” is referring to space and
the known universe. The verse points out that space, and thus the universe,
happens to be expanding, just as Hubble’s Law states.

That the Quran mentioned such a fact centuries before the
invention of the first telescope, at a time when there was primitive knowledge
in science, is considered remarkable. This is more so considering that,
like many people in his time, Prophet Muhammad happened to be illiterate and
simply could not have been aware of such facts by himself. Could it be
that he had truly received divine revelation from the Creator and Originator of
the universe?

The Big Bang Theory

Soon after Hubble published his theory, he went on to discover
that not only were galaxies moving away from the Earth, but were also moving
away from one another. This meant that the universe happened to be
expanding in every direction, in the same way a balloon expands when filled
with air. Hubble’s new findings placed the foundations for the Big Bang
theory.

The Big Bang theory states that around 12-15 billion years ago the
universe came into existence from one single extremely hot and dense point, and
that something triggered the explosion of this point that brought about the
beginning of the universe. The universe, since then, has been expanding
from this single point.

Later, in 1965, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
made a Noble Prize winning discovery that confirmed the Bing Bang theory.
Prior to their discovery, the theory implied that if the single point
from which the universe came into existence was initially extremely hot, then
remnants of this heat should be found. This remnant heat is exactly what
Penzias and Wilson found. In 1965, Penzias and Wilson discovered a 2.725
degree Kelvin Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) that spreads through
the universe. Thus, it was understood that the radiation found was a remnant
of the initial stages of the Big Bang. Presently, the Big Bang theory is
accepted by the vast majority of scientists and astronomers.

A
microwave map of the left over from the Big Bang that gave birth to the
universe. (Courtesy: NASA)

It is mentioned in the Quran:

“He
(God) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth…” (Quran 6:101)

“Is not He who created the heavens and the earth Able to
create the likes of them? Yes; and He is the Knowing Creator. His command
is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” (Quran
36:81-82)

The above verses prove that the universe had a beginning, that God
was behind its creation, and all that God needs to do in order to create is to
say “Be,” and it is. Could this be an explanation as to what triggered
off the explosion that brought about the beginning of the universe?

The Quran also mentions:

“Have
those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a
joined entity, then We separated them, and made from water every living thing?
Then will they not believe?” (Quran 21:30)

Muslim scholars who have explained the previous verse mention that
the heavens and earth were once one, and then God caused them to separate and
form into the seven heavens and Earth. Yet, due to the limitations of
science and technology at the time of the revelation of the Quran (and for
centuries to follow), no scholar was able to give much detail about how exactly
the heavens and earth were created. What the scholars could explain was
the precise meaning of each word in Arabic in the verse, as well as the overall
meaning of the verse.

In the previous verse, the Arabic words ratq and fataq
are used. The word ratq can be translated into “entity”
“sewn to” “joined together” or “closed up”. The
meaning of these translations all circulate around something that is mixed and
that has a separate and distinct existence. The verb fataq is
translated into “We unstitched” “We clove them asunder” “We
separated” or “We have opened them”. These meanings imply that
something comes into being by an action of splitting or tearing apart.
The sprouting of a seed from the soil is a good example of a similar
illustration of the meaning of the verb fataq.

With the
introduction of the Big Bang theory, it soon became clear to Muslim scholars
that the details mentioned with regards to the theory go identically hand in
hand with the description of the creation of the universe in verse 30 of
chapter 21 of the Quran. The theory states that all the matter in the
universe came into existence from one single extremely hot and dense point;
that exploded and brought about the beginning of the universe, matches what is
mentioned in the verse that the heaven and Earth (thus the universe) where once
joined together, and then split apart. Once again, the only
possible explanation is that Prophet Muhammad had truly received divine
revelation from God, The Creator and Originator of the universe.

Footnotes:

[1]
The First Three Minutes, a Modern View of the Origin of the Universe, Weinberg.

[2] When
the light an object emits is displaced toward the red end of the spectrum.
(http://bjp.org.cn/apod/glossary.htm)

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.